


New and yet Familiar

by Oakwyrm



Series: The Times We Live In [1]
Category: Thrilling Intent (Web Series)
Genre: Airports, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, i am not ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 19:44:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7814686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oakwyrm/pseuds/Oakwyrm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six months sounds like a long time to wait to meet your boyfriend face to face for the first time. It is. It is a tremendously long wait which Kyrlos is more than glad to have be over.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New and yet Familiar

**Author's Note:**

> After episode 140... man I am not OK. I needed to do something where they are both ALIVE and HAPPY.
> 
> So this happened.
> 
> Because I am not OK and still crying. I am still in agony over this!

Kyrlos was trying very hard to look neutral, leaning casually against the cool stone wall of Lisbon Airport. He was failing. About every five seconds or so he'd check his watch or rub his hands together or fidget with the iron bracelet around his wrist.

Then again one could hardly blame him. It wasn't every day you were set to meet your boyfriend for the first time in real life. True they had skyped a lot over the past six months but it wasn't even close to the same thing. Briefly he wondered if Zeke's hair would feel as silky as it looked. What colour were his eyes, really? The lighting never seemed quite right for him to make that out in any of the pictures he'd seen and skype's video chat was so notoriously bad he hadn't even bothered to try on that front.

His train of thought was abruptly ended as people began to file out of the terminal he was watching. His eyes scanned the crowd carefully for the familiar face and long black hair, soon spotting Zeke in the crowd. A huge grin broke out over his face and as soon as Zeke was somewhat free of the crowd of people Kyrlos ran forwards.

Zeke had about five seconds to orient himself to his surroundings before a familiar figure collided with him and picked him up in a surprisingly strong hug, spinning him around at least once for good measure. He blinked and stared down into Kyrlos' brown eyes, the latter still holding him in a tight hug, effectively keeping him off the ground. In hindsight Kyrlos' strength shouldn't have surprised him. The man was a blacksmith after all.

“You can let me down now,” he pointed out. Kyrlos abruptly loosened his hold and Zeke landed neatly, brushing a stray hair back behind his ear. There was a slightly tense second as they just looked at each other, near enough now to touch for the first time in all the time they had known each other, which was about five years now. Though their romantic relationship had only started half a year ago.

Zeke was the first to move this time, moving forwards enough to close the distance between them. The kiss was short and a trifle awkward, as first kisses often are. They remained where they were, only a few inches apart as they stared at each other. It felt like the moment in a film where the music would swell and the long parted couple would have long, passionate kiss but for some reason that didn't seem right.

Instead Kyrlos gently took Zeke's hand and smiled at him and it felt better than any classic film moment could. The simple familiarity and the feel of Kyrlos' calloused hand in his were things Zeke hadn't known he missed. But then, you can't exactly miss things you've never experienced.

***

Lisbon was a beautiful city, if cities were your thing. However to Kyrlos, while he did acknowledge that it did have beautiful places, it would never be truly _new_. He had spent his entire life in the same city, it was his home. Zeke, however, saw the city with fresh eyes and he was captivated.

Kyrlos would quite happily waste the entire day just showing Zeke around if it meant his boyfriend would keep having that look of curious awe on his face. But he also knew Zeke wouldn't appreciate lugging around a suitcase all day so they had to at least briefly stop by his apartment.

The trip to his apartment was thankfully short and Kyrlos had previously done his best to give Zeke a long distance tour via skype so there were minimal “my boyfriend is about to see my apartment for the first time” nerves. In fact Kyrlos was beginning to settle quite comfortably, with the initial nervousness he'd felt during the wait for Zeke's plane almost gone.

His apartment was on the ground floor of a high rise. Not much of a view but honestly Kyrlos preferred being lower to the ground to the lofty, airy apartments of the higher levels. In this way, as with many others, he and Zeke were different.

Kyrlos unlocked the door and stepped aside, letting Zeke walk in first. Greyish blue eyes surveyed their surroundings with quiet fascination.

“I was under the impression it was smaller,” he commented, running his hand over the back of the couch and glancing briefly over to the TV. Kyrlos laughed that loud, booming laugh that seemed to fill the air with mirth.

“Nah I've got plenty of space,” he grinned before a thought hit him. “Right I have something for you in my workshop!” he said eagerly. Zeke smiled fondly at the familiar enthusiasm and let himself get dragged out of the living room and down the hallway.

At the end of the hallway there was a door that looked no different from the others, aside from the iron plaque reading “In valour there is hope”. Or at least that's what Zeke thought it said. The plaque was in Portuguese and his skill in the language was still a little unsure.

Kyrlos opened the door with that very specific grin on his face that told anyone who knew him well that this way something he was proud of and that he wanted acknowledgement for something that had taken considerable effort. As soon as Zeke properly looked into the room it was obvious as to why.

Kyrlos' forge, the big thing where he made hand crafted door knockers, iron pendants and the like, was obviously not in his flat. This room was where he made, or put the finishing touches, on his more delicate pieces. Things like the necklace that currently hung around Zeke's neck. A blue stone held inside a silver pendant that hung on a simple silver chain.

All around the workshop were placed various things in differing stages of completion. One table off to the side held finished pieces waiting to be shipped off to the people who had commissioned them.

The thing that drew Zeke's eye, however, was on the main worktable. There, looking like Kyrlos had only just finished it, sat a copper water lily. It seemed to hold no other purpose than to be what it was, a beautiful sculpture in the form of Zeke's favourite flower.

“Regular flowers die,” Kyrlos offered, catching on to why Zeke had suddenly fallen so silent.

“I'm going to kiss you now,” Zeke said before doing just that because really, words escaped him. Just how long had the sculpture taken to make? Kyrlos leaned into the kiss, pulling Zeke a little closer to himself and cutting off Zeke's train of thought in favour of getting lost in the moment.

“That means you like it right?” Kyrlos asked, breaking the kiss. Zeke laughed, letting his forehead fall onto Kyrlos' shoulder.

“Of course I like it,” he said. The choice of metal had not escaped Zeke's notice either. Copper was a favourite of Kyrlos' to work with and somehow the colour itself was just so Kyrlos that Zeke couldn't see it and not think of him.

This did, however, present a little bit of a problem. Zeke was not the best with gifts or the creative arts. He could draw, acceptably if he put his mind to it. He also played the piccolo but he wasn't delusional enough to believe himself to be any good at it. In general he was just a kendo teacher who got disproportionately angry at video games. At least he didn't get disproportionately angry at real life any more. Well, not often anyway.

“Excellent,” Kyrlos smiled and Zeke decided that his gift for Kyrlos would have to be good enough. He steeled himself and opened his mouth to speak.

“Do you have a plan for what we're going to do while I'm here?” he asked in somewhat halting, unsteady Portuguese. Kyrlos blinked before his smile broadened into a huge grin.

“When did you start learning Portuguese?” he asked in the same language, sounding beyond delighted. Zeke smiled one of his small smiles.

“Five months ago,” he said, switching back to English. “I'm far from fluent but I figured since it's your mother tongue...” he shrugged. Kyrlos pulled him into a tight hug.

“I do have a plan,” he answered, his voice slightly muffled as his face as currently buried in the crook of Zeke's neck. “Starting with some sightseeing.” Kyrlos pulled away, glancing back down the hall before beginning to walk back towards to door of his apartment, trusting that Zeke would follow him.

Zeke took one last look at the copper water lily before smiling to himself and turning to follow Kyrlos, looking with optimism towards the two weeks he would be in Lisbon.

**Author's Note:**

> Some facts about these two in this modern AU (most of which were stated in the fic but eh):
> 
>  **Zeke Atwater from Brighton, (East) Sussex, England**  
>  \- Atwater because “dweller at the water”. I mean come on. Have you seen the Lily Clan gardens? Also Brighton because I'm sorry I grew up with Pride and Prejudice Brighton is permanently burned onto the inside of my skull.  
> \- Speaks English with a Sussex accent, Japanese (courtesy of his Japanese mother and grandmother) and Portuguese (still learning). He also speaks Italian thanks to Tenui but he and his father never really got along fantastically so he mostly just lapses into Italian when he's really fucking angry.  
> \- Teaches Kendo and has plans for a water garden if he can ever move somewhere where he could realistically have one.  
> \- Atwater was his mother's surname.
> 
>  **Kyrlos Ferro from Lisbon, Estremadura, Portugal**  
>  \- I know a surname meaning “iron” might sound like a little bit of a stretch but I think it works. Also since we know that in canon he was originally called Carlos but changed it to Kyrlos I decided he's from the place where Carlos I of Portugal was assassinated. Because reasons.  
> \- Speaks English in a Spanish-sounding accent (of course it's Portuguese but hardly anyone ever gets that) and, of course, Portuguese  
> \- He's a blacksmith and also does other stuff with metals.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Together (It was Supposed to be Us)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8227651) by [kappa77](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kappa77/pseuds/kappa77)




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